Virat Kohli can become the greatest Indian batsman of all time: Sangakkara

Virat Kohli can become the greatest Indian batsman of all time: Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara said that Virat Kohli can become the greatest Indian batsman of all time by the time he finishes his career.

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IndiaToday.in

Birmingham

August 4, 2018

UPDATED: August 4, 2018 14:37 IST

Virat Kohli scored his first Test hundred in England during the 1st Test at Edgbaston (Getty Images)

HIGHLIGHTS

Sangakkara backed Kohli to become the greatest Indian batsmen ever

He went onto add that Kohli can go on to break many records

Sunil Gavaskar also heaped praise on Kohli for his batting at Edgbaston

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara feels that if Virat Kohli continues his great form for India, he can finish as the greatest Indian batsman off all time.

Sangakkara feels that Sachin Tendulkar is unique in terms of playing the game and handling his legacy but Kohli is currently the best in the world and he is well on his way to match Tendulkar.

"The way he is playing, Virat can well become the greatest ever Indian batsman. In terms of Sachin's legacy, both in terms of cricket and the way he has dealt with pressure, he is unique. But Virat is well on his way to match that. He is comfortably the best in the world of his generation and with time, he will mature even more," he told TOI on the sidelines of his commentary stint with Sky Sports.

He also went on to add that if Kohli understands his game a bit better, he can go on to break many records.

"If he understands himself a bit better and keeps improving his game, he will break quite a few records," Sangakkara said.

Sunil Gavaskar also praised Kohli in his coloum for TOI. Gavaskar, who himself is considered one of India's greatest-ever, feels that Kohli is so talented that he can get runs even if he wakes up in the middle of the night. Gavaskar also went on to add that Kohli's form shows that he didn't need to play county cricket to get success in England after the horrors of 2014, when he scored 134 runs from 10 innings.

"Kohli made a mockery of the thinking that he needed to play county cricket to get a big score in England. Kohli is an exceptional talent and can get runs even if he wakes up in the middle of the night," Gavaskar said.

However, Gavaskar was critical of the other Indian batsmen, who have so far failed to hang in there and help Kohli in the Test match. Kohli has scored the majority of Indian runs in the Test match and Gavaskar felt that more practice before the Test series would have been ideal for the Indian batsmen.

India just played one three-day game against Essex before the first Test.

"More than him, it is the other guys who have lesser talent who needed to spend more time playing against the red ball, as was seen by the way they struggled against the moving ball.

"Even if India go on to win the Test and the series, the decision to play just one three-day game in fortnight's gap has clearly not helped the other batsmen," Gavaskar said.

India need 84 runs to win the first Test of the five-match series on Saturday with five wickets in hand. Kohli and Dinesh Karthhik remained unbeaten overnight and the Indians would hope that the pair carry on where they left off and win the game for their side to achieve history.

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